Swift Parrot

Lathamus discolor

George Shaw was the first to describe the species, in 1790.

Lathamus honours English zoologist John Latham; discolor means different colours in Latin.

William T. Cooper, Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) 1971
(adult male)

Author’s note: Visiting Tasmania in 1838, John Gould found the Swift Parrot to be ‘abundant in all the gum-forests of Tasmania’. At Hobart Town, where it was ‘very common in the shrubberies and gardens’, it could easily be approached as it gorged on nectar from the street trees, heavily flowering Blue Gums (Eucalyptus globulus). Today, its numbers are so reduced that it is listed as Endangered.

George Raper 1788

Author’s note: Raper’s illustration is the first known of the species.

Sarah Stone, Red-shouldered Parroquet 1790 (immature)

Author’s note: This illustration is the first published of the species.